Nature conservation on private land: Civil Society Nature Reserves in Valle del Cauca Conservación de la naturaleza en propiedad privada: las Reservas Naturales de la Sociedad Civil en el Valle del Cauca Conservação da natureza em propriedade privada: As Reservas Naturais da Sociedade Civil no Valle del Cauca Melissa Quintero López Fabio Alberto Arias Arbeláez Date of reception: 3 August 2015 Date of approval: 9 December 2015 https://doi.org/10.19053/22565779.3732 Abstract Civil Society Nature Reserves in Colombia play an important role in the conservation of ecosystems. This paper investigates why the owners of private areas in Valle del Cauca preserve nature on their properties. Among the explanations considered are the economic theories of rational choice and reciprocal altruism, as well as the theory of cultural value orientations which comes from social psychology. It was found that the predominant reasons for the establishment of nature reserves are self-interest and an appreciation of nature on the part of land owners. Keywords: Nature conservation, Civil Society Natural Reserves, incentives, rational choice, altruism, cultural value orientations. JEL: Q21, Q24 Resumen A complete version of this study corresponds to the final degree project in Economics from the Universidad del Valle, written by Melissa Quintero López directed by Fabio A. Arias. Economist, researcher for the Asociación para el Estudio y Conservación de las Aves Acuáticas en Colombia (Association for the Study and Conservation of Aquatic Birds in Colombia), Calidris, Cali, Colombia, Postal address: Cra 60a No. 2a -79, Cali, Colombia. Email address:
[email protected] Economist, Ph.D in Sustainable Development, professor at the Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia.